Thomas Byrne: Ireland's twin challenge

In the late 1970s the film director Roman Polanski admitted to having unlawful sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old girl. He spent 42 days in prison then fled the United States because he feared bein...

18 Sep 201323min

What now for the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and its political wing the Freedom and Justice Party? Rarely has the fall from power of a party been so quick, dramatic and violent. Since President Morsi’...

16 Sep 201323min

Vladimir Putin appears to be relishing his role at the centre of the diplomatic manoeuvring over Syria - it reinforces his image as the strong man in the Kremlin. But just how strong is he? A recent r...

13 Sep 201323min

Hardtalk is in Italy to speak to the Italian Prime Minister, Enrico Letta. He is trying to hold together a fragile coalition of left and right, including the party of Silvio Berlusconi, while pushing ...

11 Sep 201323min

Economists have spent years bemoaning the long-term stagnation of the advanced economies and drawing unflattering comparisons with the dynamic growth in the emerging economies, but is it time to chang...

9 Sep 201323min

Six years ago a young English student Meredith Kercher was murdered in Perugia, Italy. The investigative and judicial process which followed was fundamentally flawed. Two people, Meredith's American f...

6 Sep 201323min

Is a military strike against the Assad regime in the offing or not? Two weeks after reports emerged of an apparent chemical weapons attack in the Damascus suburbs, the West's response is still riddled...

4 Sep 201323min

Allan Little talks to the acclaimed actor, writer and director Steven Berkoff. He’s spent over 50 years in the theatre and on film, rocking the establishment with his outspoken and often angry views. ...

2 Sep 201323min